Who is she?
by qwertysweetea
Summary: As the rest of Les Amis de l'ABC mock Marius for falling in love with an unnamed girl, he see's something in one that gives away a lot more. Marius learns that Grantaire not only believes Marius is in love but that he fears for him because he know what it's like to be in love and not have it reciprocated. Marius' imagination get the best of him and he attempts to play matchmaker.


Ursule - The name Marius gave Cosette.  
>'The smile' - Red and Black, 2012 adaptation. George Blagden's Grantaire gave a small, cheeky smile in like a second of footage that spun the idea for this fanfiction.<p>

Disclaimer: I do not own nor claim to own Les Misérables or any characters and places associated with Victor Hugo's novel, any screen or stage adaptations and musical soundtracks. No profit is made from the writing for this fanfiction.

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><p>Marius would be lying if he said that his friendship with Grantaire didn't change with the smile. Despite how the man acted that small flash of emotion had given him away. While the others laughed at him or regarded his infatuation with the nameless beauty as a flitting physical devolution, Grantaire watched on with a mocking yet mindful gaze. He didn't just believe that Marius was really in love, he understood it. He mocked him from the foolishness of doing so yet he feared for him just as much, silently, as if he knew what it was to love and never have it reciprocated.<p>

He wished to quiz him about it, but as Grantaire never made to invade his privacy on the issue of his unnamed love, he treated him with the same respect he received. Days passed. They drunk together and laughed but never talked of love again.

After that, it was just how long Marius could handle the all-consuming curiosity about the older man. He wanted to know more about the girl that Grantaire had never one the heart of and why she had never reciprocated his affections. Was it for materialistic reasons or were they torn from each other's arms by some tragedy?

Was she the reason he was so cynical?

Was she the reason he drunk too much?

Was she pretty or was she plain? Did she read? Did she sing?

Was she like his Ursule?

The longer he thought about it, he began to answer the questions for himself.

Surely the girl had been rich with high social standing, and her family if not herself also had disapproved of the match because he was simply a student. It was most definitely not tragedy that had separated them, for he was a cynic, yet he still joined Les Amis de l'ABC and listened to them speak of equality and liberation.

He also assumed she was higher class because he could dance yet was not a man built physically or mentally for dancing and came to the obvious conclusion that he had learnt for her. You see, she would have gone to a lot of social events and he would have wished to impress her.

This had gone on for days, his ideas becoming more and more elaborate and thought out before it finally caught up with him one evening.

The thought of Grantaire learning to dance, to improve himself to be worthy of the love of his beautiful heiress only to be laughed at before he got to show the fruits of his labour, and all for what? Not being rich, not being handsome?

Oh poor Grantaire! He thought. Nobody should have to suffer through such an injustice of the heart!

Marius sat by Grantaire's side, observing the man with a sorrow look. He felt down on the other man's behalf.

Grantaire, who was already a good way through a bottle of wine by the time Marius had joined him, clapped his back in an affectionate manner. "What is wrong with you tonight, my friend?" He laughed "Is all not well in the land of lovers?"

Yes, the man could mock. Marius thought in distress. But he only did so to cover his own pain, and that was fair.

"It is not I you should be asking if all is well!" Marius exclaimed, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You are so heartbroken and it pains me to see you like this. You are a gentleman of so many qualities that a woman would be proud to have by her side."

For a moment Grantaire looked confused, but then he laughed.

Marius watched him with pity. Grantaire was taking it so well, he was such a strong man. Strong than himself! He thought, remembering the hurt of losing his love when he found out they had moved; not knowing when he would see her again… and here he was within his sights and Grantaire's so far from his.

"I cannot imagine what it must feel like for you, knowing that she is gone forever. When my Ursule left I felt a crushing sadness until she was found. To know there is no end to that sadness… I have not the words."

Grantaire placed the back of his hand to Marius' forehead, frowning in concentration for a moment before throwing his hand in the air "Somebody get me something strong. Brandy perhaps! Marius' love sickness has taken a turn for the worst and he now presumes everyone to be in love and everyone to be sick with it!"

There was a chorus of laughs and a drink was thrust in Marius' hands. Grantaire chuckled into the mouth of his bottle but his eyes shone back with that same understanding. This time Marius jumped at it, grabbing his arm tightly, pinning it to the table in front of them.

"I see the understanding in your eyes as a man who has known love. But also a warning, as a man who has lost it. Tell me my friend. Please. If not so I can know you better but as a cautionary tale, so I might not fall into the same trap." Marius took a breath, clinging onto Grantaire's arm desperately as if he feared he would run away. "Who was she? Was she pretty? Rich? Did she dance?"

Grantaire's laugh had fallen into a sad smile and he ducked his head closer to Marius' placing a hand over the one on his hand. "She was pretty and she was rich, but she never danced, and she was not a 'she'."

Marius was right in assuming Grantaire had been on the giving end of an unrequited love, but the rest of his assumptions couldn't have been more wrong.

He stared at the man in confusion and leant further towards him, voiced hushed so only the two of them could hear. "You are in love with a man? What stopped the love from being reciprocated? Was it his beliefs?"

Grantaire chuckled sadly and shock his head. "I was not 'in love' with a man, my friend. I admired him in every way a person can admire another. He shone so brightly with everything I wish I could be. He is a light that fills all of the darkness in my being. He makes the cynic question, and the drunk want to be sober." His hand slid from Marius' and onto the table where it twitched.

Marius watched and then muttered. "And he does not see this?"

"No." Grantaire commented sharply, eyes flicking over Marius' shoulder in spite of himself. "He thinks I am a fool."

Marius had seen and when Grantaire busied himself getting another drink he followed where his line of sight had been. It all made sense, even more sense than what he had created for him, and he found himself pitying Grantaire more than he had before. He didn't say a thing when attention was returned to him.

"Don't feel bad for me Marius." Grantaire smiled "I don't."

Oh Marius wished their talk had settled his thoughts but it had only made it worse. He felt for his friend more than he had before, and not just pity but guilt, and distress, and a sort of useless longing in the pit of his stomach that he hadn't felt since stood on the porch of Ursule's former house not knowing when he would ever see her again. On his way out he had seen Enjolras muttering to Combeferre, which only added to his empathy.

He paused for longer than he should have, close to the two, as he decided how to act. He wanted to approach the man, to tell him of Grantaire's plight but he knew it wasn't his place and that it wouldn't be appreciated, especially when Grantaire himself didn't know that Marius… well, knew.

He went to leave, thinking it best not to intervene when he heard the man's name.

His mind was made up and he waited for Enjolras to be finished before pulling him off to the side.

Enjolras looked at him with the same indifference he always seemed to display during convocation with him. "What do you want Pontmercy?"

"You could try not being so cold once in a while!" He exclaimed in a hush yet harsh voice, with a passion that could have rivaled Enjolras'.

Taken slightly off guard by the sternness in the other, the leader place a hand on his back and lead him away from the room and the others. Once in the corridor Marius crossed his arms, waiting for a reply like an angry housewife.

"What are you talking about?" Enjolras asked.

"There are people here who care about you and listen to what you say. They show up despite the wind and rain and snow to watch you talk. You could try treating them with a little less contempt!"

For a moment he looked as if he was taking Marius' point into consideration, then he looked back with a soft face, and almost mocking said "Does Grantaire know you are fighting his battles for him?"

Marius took a step back them and took in a slow breath. "No."

"Does he know that you know?"

"Does he know that you know?" Marius retorted.

Enjolras smiled softly and shook his head.

"Why would you let him stew in his love like it is something he should be ashamed of?" Marius had not given Enjolras the chance to answer before he had already come up with his own conclusion and his looked at the other with a type of frustration that felt completely foreign on his face. "You want him to be ashamed of it, don't you?"

Enjolras didn't reply but he didn't need to. His face betrayed him, and Marius knew that his assumption was far from the truth.

The next evening Marius was sat beside Grantaire, his thoughts considerably more settled than they had been in the days following. It had been a few minutes before Grantaire address him, turning towards him with a slightly dazed expression.

"Our talk yesterday. I said for you to not feel sorry for me." It was not a statement but it was not a question either. "I retract my statement. Feel very sorry for me."

Marius looked at him in confusion, smiling. "Why would I?"

"Because yesterday I lied and told you that I did not love him. I am starting to believe that I very much am." Grantaire said plainly, taking a sip of his drink.

Marius felt a happiness bubbling in his chest that only came with knowing that one of your friends was experiencing the fuzzy feeling that was love but with it accompanied a sorrow that he tried to push down. "What changed?" He said, trying to keep his voice flat.

"Something." Grantaire smiled, looking up less discreetly this time.

Marius followed his line of site to the same man as before who stood at the other side of the room with papers in his hand, taking with Courfeyrac with a soft smile on his lips, and eyes almost certainly linked with Grantaire's.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


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